Welcome to Quill Quotes Book Club’s discussion of Emergency Skin by N.K. Jemisin! We hope you enjoyed the book. Note, that this discussion covers the full book and will contain spoilers, so if you haven’t finished reading yet you may want to go back to The Forward Collection Summary Page for the other book discussions.
Kevin’s Thoughts
Very intriguing! I’d like to think removing the top, elite few from society would fix greed and allow humanity to flourish. Unfortunately, I tend to think another group would just take their place hoarding resources to get ahead of others. The composite suits also seem pretty cool for dangerous work and being in space! Not sure I’d want to wear one all the time though. I also found the Founders’ ruthless pursuit of efficiency relatable to our work-centered society. Of course, it was taken to the extreme with the elimination of women, sex, bathroom breaks, etc. in the Founders’ “perfect” society.
It’d be interesting to have a companion story from the Founders’ point of view. With the HeLa cells prolonging their lives and youth, I’m sure it would look pretty utopian from their side too. The revolution could also be a fun continuation to read with him returning to give out skin to the lower classes. The extended life and perpetual youth for an elite few reminded me of the movie In Time.
Overall, I enjoyed Emergency Skin better than Ark but not as much as Summer Frost. Rated it 4 stars.
Favorite Quote
“It is the guiding principle of our society. Rights belong only to those who earn them. When you complete this mission, for your bravery you will have proven yourself deserving of life, health, beauty, sex, privacy, bodily autonomy—every possible luxury. Only a few can have everything, don’t you see?”
– N.K. Jemisin, Emergency Skin
Brooke’s Thoughts
Wow, I really liked this one! It showcases perfectly how some people can think so highly of themselves that it doesn’t matter what you say or do, they won’t change their mind or ever admit they are wrong. It’s also scary the lengths some people will go to keep any sort of power over others. There were so many good points made in this short story. I gave this book 4.5 stars!.
Favorite Quote
“The idea of doing something without immediate benefit, something that might only pay off in ten, twenty, or a hundred years, something that might benefit people they disliked, was anathema to the Founders. Even though that was precisely the kind of thinking that the world needed to survive.”
– N.K. Jemisin, Emergency Skin
Emergency Skin Discussion Prompts/Questions
Feel free to comment whatever thoughts and questions you have! But if you aren’t sure where to start, consider some of the prompts/questions below:
- What do you think would happen if the richest and most powerful people suddenly left Earth?
- Would you want a composite suit?
- Are there additional questions or plotlines you’d like to read beyond where the story ended?
- Do you think you’d prefer the Earth society with basic needs met but grow old and die or the Founders’ society with the possibility for immortality?
- Did you read or listen to the book? Which do you prefer? Did you like the narrator?
- Share a favorite quote!
Commenting
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We hope you enjoy this discussion and join us again next week!
Emergency Skin is a fantastic short story made all the more so because it’s not so preposterous to imagine that our society could end up exactly like it did in the story. Along with the fact that humans are actively participating in the destruction of Earth, currently half of the US government heavily wants to regulate womens’ bodies and remove what should be inalienable rights from people they believe to be less than. Meanwhile billionaires build and use spaceships just because they can and corporations have no qualms grinding their human capital to nothing. Emergency Skin is a great story though because it offers us seemingly obvious solutions. First we have to accept and love ourselves. Once that’s accomplished we have to accept and love one another. And finally we eat the rich and save the Earth. Easy
“What it [Earth] couldn’t sustain was a handful of hateful self-important parasites preying upon and paralyzing everyone else. As soon as those people left the paralysis ended. “
I really enjoyed that Emergency Skin was told through the point of view of the obnoxious and degenerate Founders’ consciousness. This story was narrated by Jason Isaacs who plays Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter cinematic universe. There’s no better actor to voice a hoity-toity subconscious that becomes enraged when it’s defied. His Raleigh-North Carolina accent for the remaining people of Earth, that varies from cowboy to cousin-lover, is also entertaining. Emergency Skin overtakes Ark to become my favorite (so far) of the Forward Collection.
I couldn’t agree more! Your eat the rich solution made me laugh and made me think of A Modest Proposal by Johnathan Swift.
You are really making me want to listen to all the stories now!
That was my only complaint about the book, that it was hard to distinguish between characters at some points with the way the dialogue was written but I’m sure listening to a great narrator would fix that problem.